Bay Area Rapper Jacka Dies After Oakland Shooting

They say death comes in threes. Late last night (Monday, Feb. 2nd) news reports surfaced that Bay Area rapper The Jacka had passed away. Witnesses in Oakland heard shots ring off around 8:45 PM on MacArthur Boulevard by 94th, and CBS San Francisco confirmed that Jacka, real name Dominic Newton, had been fatally wounded.

Jacka was a member of Mob Figaz, a highly respected West Coast rap group that was formed by C-Bo. Members include Husalah, Rydah J. Klyde, Fed-X, and Ap.9. In a 2010 story, Jacka had this to say about the group: “When we’re all in the studio and I look at [the group’s members] and realize ain’t none of these fuckin’ dudes on drugs, none of them have lost their lives, nobody’s doing no real serious time to the point where they won’t come home again … it’s a blessing.

“There’s always a message,” he said of the music Mob Figaz made. “We’re not rapping just to shoot the breeze, because when we’re gone, we realize our music is still gonna be here. We’ve got a tongue, and we’re blessed with speech. Some people can’t even talk, so we’ve gotta use it for the right things. We don’t want to lead people astray after we’re gone, because all that is coming back on our soul.”

Jacka was a truly talented rapper who didn’t get the nationwide recognition he deserved. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.